We humans are extraordinary.
Hi.
We have these great big brains but we also have animal instincts
that drive us to behave in sometimes unpredictable ways.
My God! (Screams)
I want to explore why we do what we do.
What makes us competitive?
Come on, Joe. That's 25 seconds.
Fearful? Argh!
Rrr!
(Women scream)
And how much does sex lie behind our actions?
Where do you think my mouth is? It's there, innit?
(People laugh)
I'm Dr Michael Mosley
and this grand country house is going to host
a series of unique events.
Forwards...
I give up.
(People cheer)
I've invited some unwitting guests
to take part in carefully constructed experiments,
cunningly disguised as everyday activities.
Oh, my God!
They have no idea
that actually they're part of my human laboratory.
That was an emotional rollercoaster.
I mean, just watching it was an emotional rollercoaster.
Yes! (Laughs)
I'm joined by experts.
Together we eavesdrop every conversation...
Oh! Did I?
..analyse every move...
Everything I thought I would like to find... Yeah?
It has been found. Aw...
His heart rate is very high.
..to reveal the real science behind human behaviour
before revealing all.
Hello.
(Gasps) Oh, my God. I love him. Sorry.
Blimey, humans are odd, aren't they?
(All laugh)
Humans are motivated by all sorts of things
but one of their primary drivers is of course sex!
Now in theory we should be going out there,
trying to produce more babies, passing on the genes.
But in reality things are much more complicated than that.
In modern society we rely on technology to find a partner.
We swipe left, we swipe right
and we rely almost entirely on what they look like.
But I want to go back to basics, strip things down,
try a completely different approach to mating.
DOORBELL RINGS
Sharniya! Hello, how are you doing? Oh, my God...
Hi ya. How are you doing? Good. Yourself?
These eight singletons are about to take part
in an unusual experiment that deconstructs sexual attraction
and explores what our senses are really telling us
about the people we fancy.
This is swanky. Can I move in? (Laughs)
Welcome to the Lovebird Formula. (Laughs)
I'm officially welcoming you to the Lovebird Formula this weekend.
They think they are being filmed for a documentary
about a new approach to dating called the Lovebird Formula.
I understand you're all here looking for some love and romance. Yes.
So we're all looking for love, yes?
It's actually an elaborate set-up
and its hosts Bea and Sam are working for me.
We are going to be assessing your compatibility,
gathering data from you
and also unearthing some of your subconscious preferences -
why do we choose the people we choose?
Not just focusing on vision, which is something we assume,
but what else do we have in our armoury
in order to be attractive and to seek attraction?
Joining me are body-language specialist Tracey Cox
and relationship psychologist Emma Kenny.
It is wonderful having those screens.
I do enjoy the sort of multiple-eye view of stuff.
For the first stage of the experiment
we will be keeping the girls separated from the boys.
Can we just go round and say
your name, how old you are, little bit of background?
I'm Grace. I am 33. I've been single for about three years.
Okay. I am very single.
As you get older you get more picky.
Whereas when you're 20, I would just go out with someone
cos I thought they were fit.
And now it's like okay, they're fit but...
Do we get on on an emotional level? Do we get on on a spiritual level?
Has he got a good job? Is he a nice person?
So Sarah... Um, I'm 26. I'm from Cornwall.
The dating scene in Cornwall has a very slow pace.
It's quite hard to meet someone.
I've been single for about four years.
I'm Sharniya. I'm 28.
I am a hard woman to please and that's why I'm here.
I've never been in a serious relationship.
Oh, gosh, if I'm still on Tinder when I'm 80
I'm just gonna get a few cats.
I'm Jodanna. I'm 26 as well.
I am looking for a gentleman, essentially.
Someone that I could probably take home to my nan.
I just can't find one. If you can find one, let me know.
So I'm looking to you, Dathan, to kick us off.
My name's Dathan, I work in the fitness and health industry.
My hair gets me noticed.
People wanna touch it, they wanna smell it.
Some people wanna eat it, some wanna sing into it,
some wanna make hair babies with me just because of the hair.
I like tallish girls, sort of blonde.
Thanks, Dathan! Yeah...
That's what I'm aiming at...
When it comes to love, you know, love is nonsensical.
I'm Steve. I'm from London.
Ideally I'd love to meet "the one" but I'm realistic about it.
I'm kind of looking for the fairy-tale. I'm happy to wait for it
I guess that's why I don't crowd my life full of pointless dates.
I'm Rory. I'm from Runcorn. I've been single for two years.
I do feel I get judged wrongly by people for the way I look.
Obviously they see the tattoos and the beard and the shaved head
and they think I'm some kind of macho man kind of thing.
I'm Dan. I'm from Hertfordshire.
I'm single because I'm fussy.
I want someone absolutely amazing
who I feel totally lucky to spend every day with.
I bet you're stressed out, aren't you?
What if no one likes each other and they've gotta send 'em on dates?
We're just gonna have to force you. (Laughs)
On first impressions, having seen them all,
who do you pair with who?
I'm gonna be completely wrong. I would put Rory with Grace.
I think Rory's a bit scary for our good girls.
So Dathan... Is Dathan gonna get on with anybody?
I think he's gonna be scared by Grace.
Dan. I think Dan might go with Sarah. No.
I think he's gonna go for Jodanna.
Without a shadow of a doubt. Okay.
But I think Jodanna might like Steve
and I think Steve might like Jodanna.
So we all have very different ideas
on who might hit it off with who,
which is perfect for what I have planned.
All of our singletons have been selected
because they show signs of being compatible
with more than one person
but for very different reasons.
So we're gonna move on
and we're going to look at kind of smells
and we all know that smells can be linked to seduction.
Smells can be extremely important.
For many of us a simple smell
can either be a real turn-on or a complete turn-off.
You've been asked to wear a T-shirt for three nights.
Cringe. (Laughs) And the boys have been too, okay?
So you're going to sniff each of these T-shirts.
What we're going to do now is sniff and rank.
When it comes to smell it really is a case that opposites attract.
What you are subconsciously detecting through your nose
is the immune system of the other person
and in particular their MHC genes,
the major histocompatibility genes.
Now these are the genes that protect you against infection.
So if you get together with somebody
who has very different MHC genes to you,
then that means that your offspring
will have a very wide range of MHC genes,
which will help protect them against infections later in life.
I couldn't resist having a bit of fun with this as well.
We had a couple of amusing ringers, which we thought we'd throw in.
One a gorilla, so we... Perfect, very alpha.
..got them basically to wipe the T-shirt on the gorilla's armpit.
And the other one is boar spray.
So it's kind of, are you attracted to pigs? (Laughs)
Right, Grace, are you ready? Okay, in you come.
SHARNIYA: This is hilarious. Get sniffing!
Okay, Grace...
We all have an undetectable smell.
Our pheromones are as unique as our fingerprints.
They're a scent fingerprint.
Oh, God...
(Laughs) Repelled by it.
Oh...
Right, so we're looking for sexiness here.
Grace, what do you reckon?
This is very odd.
Are you ready... I am so ready!
This is very exciting. Who said dating couldn't be glamorous?
Hair flick... Want me to hold your hair back?
Oh, no, it's fine. You're right?
Okay, I'm getting excited.
It's not just your offspring that could benefit
if you were to use smell to choose a potential mate.
One study found couples with differing immune systems
also had more active sex lives and are more likely to remain faithful.
None of these scents are strong enough
for me to go "That's appalling."
But at the same time, these ones down here,
if my girlfriend smelled of it, I'd be like...
(All laugh)
This one's cheated, I swear.
What does that smell of? That one smells really strong.
So that's the boar?
That was strong.
No. Fine... She's not impressed.
That's quite strong. I'm gonna leave that there.
Good judgement. You don't find boars sexy.
They all rejected the boar. One quite fancied the gorilla.
F's getting promoted. Oh, is it? Good work, F, good work.
Dan!
That your order? That smells a bit more human.
EMMA: D... Grace.
So Grace has done really well in this test.
Yeah... I'm going there.
Yeah. And that's definitely your most...
That's the most.
That's my order. Okay, you sure?
Yep. Jodanna, well done...
I feel so proud. You've done such a good job.
Okay...
I've never ruled out a girl based on her pheromones. No.
It'll be interesting to see what they think of ours, though.
Rory was favourite with the girls.
Rory scores really well on scent, doesn't he? Yeah!
You'd say that just on smell alone...
Rory. ..Rory's clearly on top.
Grace was top girl. But does this support our theory?
We took saliva samples from all our guinea pigs
and looked at their MHC genes.
And the result? Well, I was really surprised.
Jodanna's favourite T-shirt was worn by Rory,
whose immune system is the least like hers.
That's in line with the theory.
Dan's least favourite was Sarah,
whose immune system is closest to his.
So amazingly enough, the theory seems to stand up.
Opposites really do attract, at least when it comes to smelling.
Have you met people that initially you've been like "Ergh"?
Then you've got to see them in the pub or at the shop
or you bump into them a lot
and start thinking they're quite nice?
Yeah, definitely.
I've never met someone and been like "Oh, my God, he is awesome"
and then got with him, never.
I dunno, though.
You can't just go out with someone because you fancy them, can you?
Well, it depends what you're looking for in a partner, really.
I was married before. We were together five years.
But it ended because we were like brother and sister.
I've never been in a relationship with someone for a long time
that I've actually really fancied.
It is upsetting.
As far as I was concerned he's my best mate
and you can't be with them.
I do feel that I'm ready to share my life with someone.
What would you say you're looking for?
Well, just not a psycho. (All laugh)
Very soon we're going to be in the same room as the boys.
Oh, God, I don't know if I can handle this!
But they're not actually going to be able to see each other.
We're gonna put them in a dark room
when all they'll be able to do is hear each other
and they have devices by which they can assess
whether they fancy the other person simply based on their voice.
We're gonna be looking at ways in which we can use our voice.
So when we go into the same room it'll be purely focusing on sound.
Got any singers in the room? (Laughs)
Are we getting serenaded, is that what you're saying?
We are! It's gonna be wicked.
As a team now I am gonna ask you to come up collectively
with a chat-up line.
After creating their chat-up line,
they have to deliver it to the other group,
who will assess them for attractiveness
based simply on the sound of their voice.
It'd be great if you had something that had good length.
(All snigger)
I'm thinking what, 10, 12... words? (Other men snort)
I'd be very satisfied with 10, 12 words, I tell you.
Who wouldn't? Yeah.
They won't be able to see each other
and they will rate each voice using an electronic dial -
100% for "love it" and zero for "hate it".
The only one I know, which always makes me laugh,
is "You have something on your arse"
and then when they go "What?" you go "My eyes."
I like that. Yeah!
Are we in heaven? Cos I see an angel.
(Chuckles)
All right, let's go, ladies.
You okay, guys? No. I'm still with you.
We're gonna wait outside the door
until we know that the ladies are ready to receive.
(Laugh)
Okay, quiet, quiet.
There are many things
that can influence our opinion of someone else's voice
but we are looking specifically at the pitch.
For most girls quite a low voice is attractive.
Instantly you perceive
that they could potentially be quite powerful.
A deep voice indicates lots of testosterone.
In turn, that would suggest a big masculine body,
strength and a healthy immune system.
But which will our ladies prefer?
Can we take out the lights? Thank you.
Could I hear from Number One your chat-up line? Thank you.
Ohhh...
Come fly away with me.
We could maybe hatch a worm or two,
build a nest and maybe some twit twoo.
Thank you very much.
Dan's voice measured 153.6 hertz,
which is average for this group of men.
Ladies, please spin that dial, cast that vote.
Okay...
Scored very well.
Grace unimpressed,
not very impressed, but quite impressed.
And clear your ear palate cos we're gonna hear another voice.
Come fly away with me,
catch a worm or two,
build a nest
and maybe some twit twoo.
Dathan has a deep voice, which in theory the girls will love.
Ooh, blimey, nought.
Jodanna really didn't like that, did she?
The line gets better the more you hear it, trust me.
Number Three.
Fly away with me, we can catch a worm or two,
build a nest and maybe some twit twoo.
Bit flat in his delivery? 100%!
So Jodanna really likes that voice. Grace no.
Sarah no. Grace really didn't go for it.
And finally, Number Four.
Steve, you've got a lot of ground to make up here.
Fly away with me, catch a worm or two,
go and build a nest and maybe some twit twoo.
Hmm... Oh, my God. That is so surprising!
I would've thought the delivery was so unenthusiastic.
Boys, that was very arousing. Thank you very much for that.
Okay, prepare to be blown away, gentlemen.
There are some studies which suggest
that men are attracted to women with higher-pitched voices,
suggesting higher levels of oestrogen.
And in one study they found
that women, when they were ovulating and therefore more fertile,
they subconsciously raised the pitch of their voice.
So let's see what our gentlemen think.
All right, so Number Five, take it away.
Do you believe in love at first sight
or should I walk past again?
(Laughs) It's better than the men's.
Grace's voice is 187.2 hertz,
average for these women.
Boys, it's time to twiddle your knobs and vote.
Rory and Steve love it. Dan not enthusiastic at all.
Do you believe in love at first sight
or should I walk past again?
Boys, cast your votes.
Rory and Steve are liking everything.
Rory and Steve are just like "If it speaks I like it."
Do you believe in love at first sight
or should I walk past again?
Sarah's voice is much higher at 250.9 hertz.
Steve really didn't like that. Steve!
He obviously is a regionalist. He's harsh.
Steve!
See, I think that was quite naughty and seductive.
I thought it was naughty.
And last but by no means least, Number Eight.
Do you believe in love at first sight
or should I walk past again?
Mm... Rory doesn't like it at all!
No.
Ladies, well done. You have excelled yourselves.
I too, like a proud mother, thank you very much, everybody.
Dathan's voice was deepest at 99 hertz
but surprisingly the girls ranked him last.
Sarah has the highest pitch at 250.9 hertz
but like Dathan she also ranked last.
Dan was top with the girls, Jodanna with the boys.
So what's going on?
Both of them have voices
which fall within the average range for their gender.
Averageness may sound a bit weak
but in evolutionary terms it means you are also a safe bet.
What's your main method of meeting girls, then?
I've dabbled on Tinder.
I couldn't think of anything worse than going on a date
with someone that I wasn't 100% sure
I wanted to at least be on the date with.
ALL: Yeah.
My relationship with my mum
definitely has some kind of impact in what I look for.
That's the worst, isn't it?
They put old pictures up and you go...
It ends in tears. I don't know why you'd do it.
Her personality
and how she is just good to all people that she meets
and fun and nice to be around, I look for that.
With two senses down,
how do the results from the smell and hearing tests stack up?
Well, five out of eight daters rated the same person as "most attractive"
based simply on smell and voice appeal.
It's human nature to make snap judgements about other people
based entirely on their looks.
According to Princeton psychologists,
this happens in less than a tenth of a second.
And that's why I've been so keen
to prevent our would-be daters from actually seeing each other.
Now, however, they are going to go on a proper date
but still without seeing the other person.
Great, thank you. Come this way.
Hello. This is Bea.
Without sight, they will be reliant on their other senses
and the power of personality to form their opinion.
Now I get what you meant when you said it was a blind date.
Our daters have been matched
using the sort of compatibility questionnaire
used by many online dating agencies.
So what's your name, by the way? Sarah.
Sarah, I'm Dathan. Dathan.
Yeah, Dathan. Yeah, it's a very unusual name but...
This is really interesting combination, Dathan and Sarah,
because they score incredibly highly on compatibility.
Hi. Hello, how are you?
Um, quite awkward to be honest.
Yeah, this is very bizarre.
These two have average compatibility.
My inclination is this is a friendship relationship. Yes!
But I am looking forward to being proven wrong.
You are all set for dinner, guys.
Hi, person in front of me.
Jodanna and Dan...
Hi ya. You right? How's it going?
Grace and Steve score high for compatibility.
Grace rated Steve number one for voice,
whereas for Steve it was Grace all the way.
So he's strongly attracted to her. Yep.
Right, so I need to find my spoon.
Why did you come on here and what you looking for?
Well I've been single for like three years.
It's hard, isn't it, to meet someone that you've got everything with,
like as in you really fancy them as well as you get on really well?
What about you? The same.
I'd marry the love of my life in the morning.
There is a bridal suite here if you want to just crack on.
I'm like generally a bit of a good girl, so...
Interesting... They put me with a good girl.
Are you a good boy?
What's, what's a good boy?
Dan says he's appalling on a first date.
He can be very shy and jittery
and doesn't convey himself in the best way.
He's dead right about that.
I do have good morals, I think. Yeah, like good morals and...
Um, yeah, yeah, I think I'm okay.
I'm conscious of how much I give away on a first date.
I don't wanna pretend I'm better than anyone else
cos that's not the case.
What car do you have? Um...
I've always loved cars. I'm a massive petrol head.
I saw this Alpha Brera S in black. I now have one of those.
I've got an M3 as well.
You don't know what car you have?
No, no, I've got two.
You've got two cars? Well, no.
What, one for the weekend, one for the week? Yeah.
But I know that they're only material items
and they don't really convey who I am.
Yeah, basically. Yeah...
You actually have one for the weekend? Well, yeah.
Oh, my God, I was joking. (Laughs) That's so...
How's your spag bol? It was all right.
I'm quite fussy so I've left it.
It's not really my taste, to be honest...
What, so what do you eat? Pizza, gotta be pizza.
Mm...
How tall or small are you? I'm tiny, five foot.
So it's really bad. Are ya?
When she said she was five foot, from there you kind of realise
that you're not physically attracted to them.
Half a minute to say goodbye. Okay. Goodbye!
Nothing's gonna happen, is it? Oh, no, no. Friendship, that's it.
Look at his whole body language.
Bye... See ya.
I don't know if I'm interested in him
because he sort of confessed that he's a really fussy eater
and automatically in my head I just thought, oh no.
Final goodbyes.
Goodbye!
It's been really good, hasn't it? Yeah.
It's been interesting. It has been really interesting.
My date was pretty good. The conversation flowed.
I think she may like me. Yeah, I'd like to see her again.
Hand's there.
I can see why I would've been matched with my date
but I do think that maybe he could have listened a bit more to me.
He didn't seem interested enough in me.
Bye. Au revoir.
So two potential couples have bitten the dust
but that still leaves two to go.
I got a treat for you guys.
It's a dessert for the two of you to share.
Before they finally see each other
I want to explore two more senses
taste and touch.
In the animal kingdom
males will often share food with females in exchange for sex.
But it's more than that.
A study done in chimpanzees found that when they shared food
both experienced a surge in the bonding hormone oxytocin,
which shows that sharing food brings us together.
I've got some on the spoon. Do you want it? What is it?
I'm feeding you! Go on. Go straight.
Where's your mouth? (Laughs)
Oh, good...
(Laughs) Very good.
I got a bit of thumb before dessert...
Yeah, but that was quite sensual.
You would not feed somebody
if you didn't find them sexually attractive.
Have you got brownie? Cos I can't find it.
That it? Yeah. Ooh, thank you!
Then we've got Mr and Mrs Civil.
Oh, no! What is it?
Where do you think my mouth is? It's there, innit?
What's up?
There's that much on the spoon I couldn't even fit anything in.
I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to get it in.
Come on, do it again.
Well, we have discussed marriage. (Laughs)
There's a flower here. (Laughs)
It's really good date, yeah.
I think there was quite a lot of spark.
I got a flower here. Look!
They almost don't need sight, those two, do they?
They just need their overt sexuality.
Say goodbye.
Bye... Where is she? Hi.
It didn't feel like the first time I'd met her.
Oh, sorry! Ooh, blimey.
They just kissed each other.
All right, don't get over-excited.
I'd definitely like to go on a date with Grace in the daylight.
I wanna carry on the date!
Ah, success!
Okay, as far as dates go, I think it's been pretty good.
Okay. Pretty good...
Like as in... You are, you are full of praise.
I'm giving you a hug. Can we hug?
Yeah, I wanna give you a hug.
I thought it was a really nice date.
Where are you? Here you go. Really nice to meet you.
Ooh, what you wearing?
Maybe she's perfect. Well, hey, definitely potential.
That's the key word, I think. She's absolutely got potential.
It was good. The date was really good.
Hey, it was really nice to meet you. And you. I'll see you soon.
There's a high standard now.
If I have to date anyone else I feel bad for them.
It went so well. I dunno. I can't explain it.
I don't usually get like this.
How was it? Yeah, it was good. All right, yeah.
Oh... So they did really like each other.
They did like each other.
If Dan and Jodanna don't vote for each other
I'll be absolutely gutted, just might as well give up.
So it was good.
EMMA: I think with 50% success, definitely.
So far we have prevented our daters from seeing their potential partners.
But that's all about to change.
Sight is without doubt our most important sense.
It occupies 30% of the cortex.
Touch on the other hand is just 8%, while hearing is 5%.
So what effect will seeing the other potential mates for the first time
have on our guinea pigs?
How fast is that heart racing right now?
Or perhaps you're feeling totally chilled.
So in a moment we'll ask you to take off your blindfolds
and see your potential mates for the first time
but you will only have a few moments.
First impressions are incredibly important, aren't they?
Yes, and science backs up
that in actual fact first impressions stick.
Most people decide whether they fancy somebody
within three seconds, four seconds.
I do love a guy with tattoos.
Olivey skin.
I'm a absolute sucker for a girl with really nice eyes.
I don't know why. I really like brown eyes.
I find them a bit mysterious maybe.
I like black girls, white girls.
I like Asian girls, whatever you name it.
Good bum and a nice pretty face, I'm quite happy.
If I had to pick boobs or bum, I'm probably a boob man.
I like dimples. That's not a necessity.
White girls, blonde hair.
Maybe brunette, you know, slightly sun-kissed, tanned.
Okay, what I'd like now is for you to take off the goggles,
keeping your eyes closed, just the goggles...
Hey!
Okay, here we go, guys.
One...
Two...
Three!
Hi.
Well, this is awkward. (All laugh)
Jodanna is looking a bit cool and aloof
and she's kind of avoiding eye contact, almost.
Oh, Sarah's done the old leg cross!
It's like Russian roulette.
WOMAN: Oh, God...
Oh, he's looking unbelievably shifty. Dan!
That is, that is such a bad expression!
WOMAN WHISPERS: How long do we have to stand here?
That was fun.
Well done. In you come.
One of the most awkward situations I've been in my life but...
My knees were all wobbly.
I know. My legs were...
The girl that was in front of me I definitely was most attracted to.
The bearded one...
JODANNA: He's northern, Sheffield or something definitely.
It's just the opposite of what I would ever go for.
I think most of them are attractive.
They're all right. Just no one stands out as stunning.
All of them were fine. Once again, it's...
Yeah.
They look sweet though, don't they?
They're all nice-looking chaps.
Yeah, it is interesting.
Everyone's been told who they were on a blindfold date with
and they have also done lots of gossiping
about the people they dated.
So having seen everyone in the flesh for the first time,
who do they now find the most attractive?
You're going to rank them in order of attractiveness
and 1 is the one you find most attractive
to 4, the least attractive.
None of them look like a weirdo.
Or scruffy...
As we expected, both Grace and Jodanna are keen
to see their respective dates from the blindfold dinner again.
But will Steve and Dan reciprocate?
Da-da-dan! Ohhhhh!
Okay. What do the blokes think?
Let's start with Steve. Ooh, that's romantic.
He put 1 and a cross against all the others.
Steve is sticking with Grace.
But Dan has only ranked Jodanna in second place behind Sarah.
He finds Sarah on the first instinctive thing sexier.
This is basically, they're going with their gut feeling.
So at this level it's instinct one, humanity two.
I was buzzing last night.
Because it went better than I was expecting it to go.
That's why I was in a really good mood about it.
I do wonder where I'm going wrong with dating sometimes.
I don't think I do anything wrong.
I just think when it comes to dating there is an element of luck there.
The stars just haven't aligned for me.
She was flying off on a silk carpet...
My sister always says
"Jo, I literally think you're gonna have a whirlwind romance.
"You're gonna be the one that meets someone,
"marries him within 12 months..."
But when she says it I'm literally like, "Yeah, I'd love that".
We're gonna do speed dating. You'll be dating all four of them.
You need to bring the woman an item of food.
The order in which you choose those women is up to you.
So we look at the person and go "She's having a sausage."
As well as dating apps,
speed dating is a popular way of meeting someone.
It's also a great opportunity to look at body language.
Now in a recent study scientists looked at men and women in a bar
and they estimate that while the women were capable
of generating up to 52 different sexual signals,
the men could only rise to a miserly 10.
Here come the boys. Morning.
You're going to select your nuptial gifts of courtship.
Sarah's mouth dropped right open when she looked at Dan.
DAN: Er, okay.
You might expect to make Dan to head for either Sarah or Jodanna
but oddly it's neither.
Where's he going? Where's Dan going? (Gasps)
Hi ya. How's it going? Yeah, very well, thanks.
Jodanna's looking very nervous and confused, as she would be.
There is your cornflakes. Thank you, yay!
Aha, cornflakes.
Hi, thank you. Are you feeding them to me again or what?
Oh, but Steve's with Grace. Yes, Steve was very specific.
How are you? Good, thanks. How are you?
Good. I haven't properly met you yet.
What's your name? Rory.
Rory. That's a cool name. I'm Jodanna.
Just call me Jo cos Jodanna's a mouthful.
Rory straightaway is warming to Jodanna.
Are you a bit of a gym guy? Yeah, I'm a martial arts instructor.
Are you? Yeah.
Look at the eye contact with Jodanna.
She's naturally able to engage.
Is that your full-time job?
No, deputy manager in a children's home.
Oh, no way! You're a nice guy.
Apparently. You do nice things.
Look how different Rory is.
You're seeing a complete change in his behaviour!
I mean, he looks warm and engaging and interested.
I was gonna bring you some sausages. (Giggles)
Grace and Steve, they seem to be getting on.
Lots of eye contact, leaning forward.
Are women generally better at picking up these signs
that somebody is checking them out?
No, not necessarily. Women are better at sending out signals.
But both sexes are notoriously bad at picking up the flirting cues.
In fact, one study found
only a third of men and one in five women
correctly identified when someone fancied them.
How was your date yesterday? Yeah, it was good.
I hear there was some feeding going on.
Mirroring someone's body language is said to be
the single most effective flirting tool at our disposal.
Why?
Well, one theory is that when we go dating
we are unconsciously seeking out versions of ourselves,
which may explain why couples often look alike.
Ladies and gentlemen, the cornflake round is over.
So gentlemen, if you could all stand up...
Have fun on your next date. Say your goodbyes.
Steve! Look at him marking the chair.
"This is my property. How dare you?"
Lots of ownership gestures and Rory's moving in.
Where's Dan going?
Well, I'm hoping Dan is gonna go for Jodanna.
No, he's got his eye on Sarah. I know, but that's what my worry is.
Fruit salad? Thank you! How wonderful.
You've got a cool look going on. A trendy guy.
Trendy guy... I try to be trendy. Don't try too hard.
With that hair Dathan gets lots of attention.
Dathan is quite flirty. Yeah.
Crinkling of the nose... Yeah.
Fruit time's over.
Lovely to meet you.
So when does Dan get with Jodanna?
Hello. Hey! Oh, thank you.
Anyway, how are you?
So oh, okay, Dan with Sarah, Dan with Sarah.
I've never been on a sort of a date like this before so...
I'm actually quite inexperienced with dates full stop, so...
Okay, how come?
Sarah's chuffed. This is the guy that she's playing for.
She's being a lot more animated with him.
Ding the dong!
You're doing very well, everyone. This is your final date now.
The moment of truth, the moment of truth...
Off you go. Make your final choice.
You right? Yeah. You?
Yeah, good, thanks. I don't eat eggs like this.
I don't know what to do with it. Are you joking?
No.
A tap on the top... Yeah. Do you wanna do it?
Yeah, I was gonna say "I'll prepare it for you."
He has sat next to her, right? Yeah, thank God for this.
I love how our speed date is consisting of you showing me...
Yeah, I'm always helping you.
She's gone all girly. Look, covering her mouth.
Yeah.
Did you enjoy it? I did definitely, yeah. Did you?
It was fun. It went better than I thought it was gonna go.
Yeah, he's engaging with her more.
That is the end, guys. Stand up.
Anyway, it was nice seeing you properly in 3D.
In actual 3D. Yeah. See you later.
Bye. Bye...
Bye.
What's the crack then, girls? Dathan's definitely good looking.
Dan, I think, is better looking than I originally thought.
He's got nice eyes.
How'd you find that? The two blonde girls that...
Yeah, they're nice, yeah. Sarah and...
Jodanna. Jodanna, yeah. They're really nice.
So ladies and gentlemen, it's time to get moving.
Who's ready for a dance off?
Okay, so we've seen them sniff T-shirts,
date each other with and without goggles on.
Now we're gonna watch them dance
because dancing is a form of courtship,
a way of sort of saying something about sex.
Certainly in the animal kingdom birds dance, even spiders dance.
There's a species that there's a little sort of movement like that.
So how will they respond to each other dancing?
You can see we've got some experts already in the room.
Shoulders open, arms down, pull up through the head.
Oh, my God. Can we speed this up? On it.
More like a bird. How did it come to this?
One knee, one knee. Double time.
It's a natural thing to... You're loving this.
Ah, ah... Come on. Both thighs. Ah, ah...
And as fast as you can, forwards backwards, forwards backwards.
Oh, my God. Now figure of eight!
I think this is just put people in the most awkward situation
and see who thrives!
Snap! And now walk around. Snap, and snap!
Snap!
In many cultures people dance as a way of attracting each other.
But it may be that just like animals,
good dancers are also signalling their biological fitness.
Snap and snap!
And she's warmed up and snap!
And snap! And snap!
There's something also about body synchronicity.
People who move well together
tend to have better sex, get on better together...
So if you can dance well together, then it is generally a good sign.
Hands on your hips. Let's spice it up a bit, guys.
Starting with the right and boom... MAN: Too quick for me.
Start to touch your own skin.
See what that feels like under your hands.
How does it make you feel?
Makes you feel like salsa-ing, right?
There are a couple of hormones which are produced when you dance
which might add to sexual attraction.
There's adrenaline,
which raises your heart rate and makes you feel excited.
And then when you have close physical contact
you also get the release of oxytocin
and this raises levels of trust, self-esteem and optimism.
Has dancing made any difference to our desperate daters?
Have any of them started to see
the people they had previously ruled out
in a different light?
I find it attractive when a girl's good at dancing.
Now do the turn.
It was a good chance to have some physical contact.
It was good fun.
Ladies, turn. Okay, I'm gonna turn.
Oi!
There was probably one other person that I thought
"I feel something towards this person that I didn't feel before."
Just move.
That person was Steve. Maybe because we were dancing.
It was a physical activity
and having him in front of me and eye contact
that I felt a little bit more like "Whoo!" you know.
"Steve's here, hello."
Off to the next partner. As quickly as you can.
Hi, ready?
I quite enjoyed dancing with Steve.
I think that Steve is my type.
He was quite good at the salsa dancing.
Final position and relax.
So this is the final vote for ranking the boys
on who you would most like to go on a date with.
Those who both rank each other as number one
will go on a romantic date.
The others will not.
Was there anyone - and just be 100% honest -
that you were like "Actually I'm drawn to him"?
Just anyone at all? Er...
Don't be scared to say who it was. Just based on...
It's Steve, innit? I know it is cos...
Just say it. Say it.
Just based on looks it was Steve, yeah.
That's who I put down.
Because I know that Sarah has put Steve as her number one choice,
and I have,
if he just changed his mind and put somebody else as like a number one
it would feel like a bit of a rejection.
I do feel a bit vulnerable.
This is as much a vote about who you think's going to pick you...
That is a possible strategy or the alternative one is you just go
"This is the person I fancy. I'm gonna put them 1."
And also has their first choice changed?
You know, all the variables they've been exposed to,
has it shifted the way they felt about those initial gut reactions?
Ooh, I've got slightly sweaty palms.
Hello. Good afternoon.
How are you? Good.
You all right?
Okay, so now the moment of truth,
when they find out who is going on a date and who isn't,
who's in demand and who's in the bargain basement.
De-de-de...
There are two couples
who have consistently matched with each other
throughout this weekend.
The first are...
Steve...
(Laughs nervously)
and...
Grace.
So please could I ask you to stand up,
take each other's hands and make your way through the door?
Two happy customers.
Yeah. She looked really relieved, didn't she?
She did.
The second couple are...
Dan...
and Jodanna.
Aw!
(Laughs)
Take each other's hand.
Dan, can I ask you to guide each other through the door? Thank you.
Dathan looks really disappointed. He is, isn't he?
For our successful matches I have two very different dates lined up.
Wow. Thank you.
Thanks.
Enjoy. See you in a bit.
Good luck. Cheers. See you.
A romantic high tea for Jodanna and Dan.
Okay, Steve and Grace, in you come. The king's bedroom.
Wow. This is nice.
And a problem solving date in a puzzle room for Steve and Grace.
They're handcuffed to each other! Yeah.
This is brilliant.
Go. So we start with one.
Go for it. Have fun! We need to...
The idea is by giving Steve and Grace a shared objective
they will start to see themselves as "we"
rather than simply "you and I".
I think it's Mary, so... Oh, yeah, probably.
This is so cute. It is...
And this is really warm, so that's good.
We've got here a quintessentially English date, a nice tea.
An actual peacock like joining us right now.
Hope it doesn't steal. That's amazing.
Hello, mate.
What's this? A peacock or something...
Oh, he's coming in again. Okay, he's gonna steal all the food.
I don't think I've ever been on a date with peacocks.
No, no, me neither, I don't think.
Romantic gestures differ
depending on the culture you've been brought up in.
When we do something romantic
it sends out a very clear message about our intentions
while still protecting ourselves from the risk of rejection.
Are you cold?
I actually am... Yeah. Have my jacket.
Ah!
That's cute. I've got double coat now.
Yeah, double coated. Thank you.
No worries. That is so much better.
10 out of 10 for you. Yeah.
Whatever date we got put on
I just knew that if it was with you we'd have a good time.
They are getting on very well
and they keep reaffirming how that person is the right choice.
Yeah, lots of checking out of the body, the flirting triangle,
which sort of gets wider to include the breast.
If you're thinking of kissing someone,
then often you will subconsciously do the "flirting triangle".
Your gaze will go, eye, eye, mouth and back up again.
Your eyes might also wander slightly further down
to the breast or maybe even the genital areas
if you're thinking about doing more than simply kissing.
Take your weight off. Don't you worry about it.
I'm just gonna chill while you look around.
No, because sometimes you need a different perspective on things...
It's a very comfortable perspective you've got there on our marital bed.
Ah... (Laughs) There it is. Congratulations.
Whoo! Thank you. There you go.
Oh, we're getting married in the king's suite.
The puzzle ended with a ring. (Laughs)
Yeah, I put the ring on her wedding finger.
I'm not sure if it's legally binding but...
Bottle of champagne and lock the door?
So what've you thought about this weekend?
Ooh, leading.
Are you happy with the outcome?
Ha, very. Are you? Yes, I am.
Ohhh...
So would you go on another date?
With you? Yeah.
Everything I thought I would like to find... Yeah.
It has been found. Aw.
Cos the one word I used was I'd like to find a gentleman
and I think that's exactly what you are.
High five. We did good. We did all right.
Hurrah. Well done, those two. Well done us.
After a bit of dithering here and there.
It's been, it's been really quite exhausting to watch.
Terence, I'll catch you on the flip side, mate.
We've had a wonderful time with you guys
but unfortunately it's now time to say goodbye.
WOMEN: Ohhh...
But before we do we have someone
who would really like to meet you all and give you some feedback.
Our guest has a keen interest in the human condition
and is an expert in physiology.
He's been observing us from behind the scenes.
And he's going to explain... Great.
..what this rather unorthodox experience has all been about.
So please welcome
Doctor Michael Mosley.
Oh, God. I love him so much.
Hello, all! Hello!
Hi.
So we have been lurking in another room watching you all.
This is Tracey Cox, who is a body language expert, okay?
And this is Emma Kenny, who is a relationship psychologist.
So I'm afraid we know you better than anybody else by now.
I'm really, really grateful. It has been enormous fun.
You were great company, I have to say.
Really interesting.
It was amazing to watch all the differences, all the changes.
One minute you liked this person, next minute you'd change
because of all the activities we were setting.
But it's been a joy, an absolute joy.
You're a lovely bunch of people. Thank you.
So there, you're released, now you're released,
you're released into the wild again.
What I found fascinating about this weekend
was the way that our daters' sexual preferences changed
as we gave their senses more and more information
about the other people.
The couple this was not true of were Steve and Grace.
Steve fancied Grace
even when all he had to go on was her smell and her voice.
I'm really pleased that half our daters
are leaving this place
with at least the prospect of a romantic future.
It's been an amazing weekend.
Me and Grace are definitely gonna see each other again.
I would like to see Steve again. There's just something about him.
We kind of get each other.
Out of all the girls Jodanna's definitely my type.
She's a really great girl. Definitely attracted to her.
Dan's asked me out for another date. Really excited about it.
I haven't felt romance in a long time.
I just wanna keep feeling it and see where it could go.
Dan's the man.
Captions (c) SBS Australia 2017